did howard dean really offer to support crist's campaign? and then there's this. >> should have never put me with that woman. ridiculous. just this awful bigoted woman. >> when will politicians ever learn gordon's gaffe, the latest on the prime minister's really bad day caught on a hot microphone. and we start off with that massive oil leak from last week's rig explosion in the gulf of mexico. it's even worse than officials first thought. officials now say a third leak has been discovered, and it is spewing out five times more oil than originally estimated. and the spill appears to be moving closer to shore. president obama has been briefed on the situation today which has gotten so bad the u.s. military is even considering offering to step in, something the rig owner, british petroleum, is welcoming. >> we'll take help from anyone. we welcome the offer from the department of defense. we're working with the experts across the industry. we welcome the help of the government. so actually, we'll take -- we're not interested in where the idea

comes from. what we're interested is how do we stop this flow and how do we stop it now? >> nbc's mark potter joins us by phone from port sulfur, louisiana, with the latest. mark, what can you tell us is happening now? >> reporter: well, they're working feverishly to try to stop that well. that's really the bottom line here. they had two leaks they knew about yesterday. then they found a third. that's really not going to change the amount of oil going into the water. it's all coming out of the same pipe. if you can imagine three cuts versus two cuts in a garden hose, that's the difference. but it's that flow going through the garden hose, that flow of oil coming out, they just cannot get that stopped. and that's the big worry right now. that's why the department of defense might be consulted. that's why anybody in the industry who has an idea is being consulted. that's the big concern. and now that they're talking about the amount of oil coming out being five times greater than what they originally thought, according to noaa now, it's a very big environmental concern. the other thing that's happening

right now is they're trying to skim up some water, oil on the water surface, and they're putting booms out along the coastline here in the southern tip of louisiana because officials have said given the way the wind is blowing now onto the shoreline, that oil could hit the louisiana coast as early as tomorrow night, the beginning of the oil, the sheen, could start coming in and then could continue to come in through the weekend. so they're trying to put booms up to protect that wetland area where so many species of birds, anim animals, fish and other marine species rely on that estuary. it's a critical area and a big concern. >> what about the latest? the big story yesterday was the plan to burn off some of this oil. what's the latest on that? >> reporter: well, they did do it. they had a burn that they did yesterday. they said it was successful. the idea there is to take the thickest of the oil out there which can be burned. they corral it in these fire-retardant booms, make a big

circle out of it, and then drag that oil out away from everything else and burn it. they did it yesterday. and they said it worked. they're going to decide, maybe announce this afternoon, whether they're going to do that again. that's only about 3% of the oil that's out there right now. most of the oil out there is a sheen that they cannot burn. but the heavy stuff is important. so they're trying to get rid of that. it's just one more, they describe, tool in the toolbox they're trying to use to tackle this thing. the problem is, i go back to what i said initially, they just need to cap that well. and they can't do it. and if they can't stop it now, they're going to have to either drill down or put a hood over it to collect the oil. and you're talking about a solution that at best is weeks away, maybe months away. so that's why everyone's so concerned about this. >> absolutely. thank you very much, mark potter, live in louisiana for us. coming up later this hour, a special report from nbc news chief environmental correspondent anne thompson. she'll explain just how officials will go about setting off more of that oil slick and

how much of a concern that really is. here's a preview. >> reporter: in a controlled burn, work boats push the oil into a 500 foot long fire-resistant boom. it is then towed to a remote area and set on fire. each burn consumes several thousand gallons of oil and lasts about an hour. >> we're going to have much more in that report coming up in about 30 minutes from now. also breaking news out of kentucky, rescuers are trying to reach two coal miners trapped after a ceiling collapsed in a mine in the western part of the state. it happened last night at the dotiki mine in nebo and about 150 miles west of louisville. webster county coal which owns the mine says the miners were trapped when a portion of the roof unexpectedly collapsed. two other miners were able to get out of there. and president obama's conceding that congress may not have the stomach to tackle comprehensive immigration reform this year, while the president stressed his commitment to the issue, he gave his own reality

check on it when he was aboard air force one. >> i don't want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn't solve the problem. i want us to get together, get the best ideas on both sides, work this through, and when it's ready to go, let's move. >> congressman bezera who sits on the house ways and means committee, and congressman bilbray, it is a great pleasure to have both of you on today. thank you both for making time. >> great to be here. >> congressman, let me start with your reaction. the president saying that congress, the two of you and many others in congress just don't have the stomach for immigration reform this year. what do you make of that? >> well, some of us have the stomach and the will, it's just that we have to find equal partners. and at this stage perhaps brian can explain why we can't find a republican in the senate who would be willing to help us. i know that there's some

republicans in the house who would be willing to try to do this, but the senate has been the roadblock for so many things, health care reform, wall street reform and now maybe immigration reform. many of us are going to keep trying because this is something the country needs to fix. >> congressman bilbray, what's your response to that? do you believe the republicans -- and i'll ask you, do you have the stomach to tackle immigration reform right now? >> absolutely. and we have got a great bill. it's the schuler bill, north carolina. his bill was co-sponsored last year, even had the hispanic caucus members and black caucus members involved. what was wrong with it to some people was it didn't have amnesty. and we were being held hostage on the issue that unless we give into rewarding the 20 million illegals in this country with legal status because they broke the law, they refuse to do the common-sense things like require every employer to use e-verify, the system of the federal government, even congress uses, just apply that. that's a bipartisan effort that is already out there and is being held up because people are looking to hold out and extort

amnesty before they allow any of these common-sense enforcement strategies to move forward. >> congressman becerra, do you believe there are those, as congressman bilbray said, extort amnesty? >> tamron, brian, you're a friend, but that's not true what you've just said. the way you've described it is not accurate. folks are willing to vote for something. no one, not a single person in the congress that i know of, is talking about amnesty where you give folks a break for having come into law without documents. everyone's talking about making tough choices and tough decisions for everyone. employers, the immigrants. and we can get there, but we've got to get past this constantly using these words like amnesty so we can get it done. there are people of good faith in both parties ready for a bipartisan bill. the schuler bill has good ideas. but it's not the complete answer. that's why we have to do a number of things. congressman schuler's bill should be considered. >> something that should be passed right away. it's common ground. we can talk about the things we

disagree and debate it. but the things we agree on we ought to be moving now and not waiting. >> congressman bilbray, and you're right, we should be able to talk about it, and if you disagree, you disagree. we've seen a lot of heated language. i want to play what duncan hunter said at a tea party rally this saturday about children who are born in the united states of parents who maybe have come in this country illegally. this is what he said. >> deportation of natural-born american citizens that are legal, kids of illegal aliens? >> yes. >> i would have to, yes. and i'll tell you what. now, it's a complex issue. and, you know, you can look and say you're a mean guy. you know, that's a mean thing to do. that's not a humanitarian thing to do. we simply cannot afford what we're doing right now. >> congressman bilbray, i apologize because that audio was kind of muscffled, but he said would support deportation of children born in this country,

that would be a violation of the constitution, and it's that kind of language that people are upset about. what's your reaction to this idea of if the child is born here, that the child would be deported even though it's a citizen, the child is a citizen? >> well, the child stays with the parent unless there's a legal guardian. my mother was an australian immigrant. when she went back to australia for a few years, i went back with her as a family. we do it all the time. you have legal immigrants when their visas expire, the children go with the parent. >> he said -- >> unless you arrange for a legal guardian. >> he said he would deport the children who are citizens of the united states. >> and he specifically said that the children should go with the parents. what he didn't clarify that if the parents make arrangement for a legal guardian in the united states, it happens all the time. and you don't make a different rule for those who might be here illegally from those who every day go home to their home countries when their visas are up and take their children with them. just like my mother did. >> we have a couple seconds left. congressman becerra. >> that's what happens when we

don't resolve frustration, anger, fear takes over. you talk about kicking out, deporting children. when children have to pay the price for what adults do or don't do, do by crossing the border without documents, don't do by not passing good comprehensive immigration reform, we're done. >> i appreciate you both coming on. i know you have different views, butt it's always great to hear both sides of any discussion. it's a great pleasure. thank you. >> thank you. and developing news now out of china where dozens of children and three adults were hurt or injured in a knife attack. china's official news agency reports an unemployed 47-year-old man went into that school, a kindergarten school, and stabbed 28 students, 2 teachers and a security guard. many of the wounded children were just 4 years of age. at least 5 are in critical condition. it is the second similar attack in just two days. yesterday a teacher on sick leave broke into a school and wounded 15 students and another teacher in a knife attack. and british prime minister gordon brown is struggling today to recover from a major political gaffe just a week before britain's national election. after talking with an elderly

widow during a routine campaign stop yesterday, he was caught off camera by an open microphone calling the woman bigoted. >> that was a disaster. should never have put me with that woman. it's just ridiculous. she's just a bigoted woman. >> well, the woman had long voted for brown's ruling party, the labor party, and she was stunned when she was told about his remark. >> you're joking. >> no, it wasn't a joke, lady. brown himself learned about his open-mike comment when it was played for him during an appearance on a radio show. you see his hand just -- his head collapsing in his hand. he then went back to the woman and tried to apologize. >> sometimes you say things that you don't mean to say. sometimes you say things by mistake. and sometimes when you say things, you want to correct it very quickly. >> nbc's stephanie gosk joins us now from london. stephanie, gordon brown forgot apparently the mike was on. a television crew had been

following him. and one report is calling this woman the joe the plumber of the uk because she could affect his political future. >> yeah. well, it's certainly going to affect his political future. you know, the perils of the open microphone, tamron, are certainly things that we're aware of in this business, and politicians are aware of them as well. they often get caught up in the same sort of situations as gordon brown. you remember george w. bush on the campaign trail using an expletive to describe a "new york times" reporter with his mike open. but, you know, it's important in looking at the story to realize that actually gordon brown was in trouble in this race before this gaffe yesterday, before this dark day. he was running third in the polls to the other two candidates, conservative leader david cameron and liberal democrat leader nick clegg. this is the first time that a sitting prime minister was sitting third in a three-horse race ever in history of this country. so he was already in trouble. now after this gaffe, people here are saying he -- it would

be almost impossible for him to recover from it. he has only a week left. tonight was supposed to be an important night, a pivotal night in this election, one of the most interesting nights, the final debate in the three debates that are going to be focusing on the economy. today gordon brown, even with his foot firmly placed in his mouth, was still able to get to a few campaign showings and said to people today, you know, yesterday was yesterday. today i'm going to talk about the economy. but it's going to be difficult for him to really change the conversation that quickly. it is all anyone wants to talk about here today. tamron? >> i heard, stephanie, that the woman may have hired a pr person? >> yeah, she did. not sure exactly what she thinks she's going to get out of it. perhaps some reality tv deals. maybe a spot on "celebrity big brother," we're not entirely sure. she has become something of a folk hero, however. there are a number of facebook sites right now that are

supporting her becoming prime minister. you know, the thing about this woman, this grandmother, is that she raised a lot of important issues on people's minds here in this country. there are serious issues about immigration regardless of how she phrased them, whether correctly or incorrectly, that people are concerned about. she talked about taxes. she talked about the economy. and that's what has a lot of people very upset is that there seems to be, because of this incident, seems to be an inability on the part of gordon brown to come to terms with the importance of these issues to the average voter. >> all right. >> that's going to be a problem for him. >> stephanie gosk live for us in our london bureau. thanks, stephanie. and later today, charlie crist is expected to turn florida politics on its head. what will it mean for the gop, and could the democrats benefit? we'll ask former presidential candidate, howard dean, about this one. plus, the next time you pay $4 a gallon to fill up your vehicle, think about a town in alaska where they are paying

more than twice that amount. the story coming up. and later, a multimillion-dollar research project and an suv wrecked. the amazing video and exactly what was going on here right on msnbc.

welcome back. funeral services began a short time ago for civil rights icon dorothy height. we've got some live pictures from washington national cathedral. dorothy height died last tuesday at the age of 98. she had an incredible life which included being the president of the national council of negro women. president obama just a short time ago delivered the eulogy and praised ms. height for her contribution to civil rights advances, sometimes at personal risk. the president said she deserves a place in our history books and

america's memory. burial service will follow at ft. lincoln cemetery in maryland. and a who's who in the political world is expected to be there to say a final farewell to that great woman. florida governor charlie crist is expected to make it official at 5:00 p.m. eastern time that he's going to run for u.s. senate as an independent. this would become a three-way race with democrat kendrick meek, marco rubio and charlie crist. for more on that and some of the other top political news of the day, i say it like you're a correspondent now. of course, we know former vermont governor howard dean, also served as chairman of the democratic national committee. i love that being a possible segment, you coming on and talking about the top political news of the day. but you're making news with charlie crist. there is a story online that's being picked up by conservative blogs that you offered to contribute to charlie crist's campaign if he left the republican party. what happened there? >> that was a joke between me and joe scarborough which some enterprising staffer for crist picked up and pushed it around. it's not true.

i'm supporting kendrick meek, as you would expect. it's very interesting race, though because i actually think that the two big winners out of this are the united states who are hopefully going to get a real senator instead of a far right person, and i do think, of course, it helps the democratic party and kendrick's candidacy as well. this is going to be a hot three-way race, and i think any of the three of them could win it. >> i do want to talk about the impact this could have on kendrick meek, but i want to get your thoughts on what this means for the republican party. is this a sign that perhaps centrists, moderates like crist have no place in this new emerging republican party? >> well, it's a really interesting question because we're going to be asking ourselves this question a lot over the next several months. and we've already been asking it. what effect does the tea party have on the republican party? and this is a really good example. they've driven another moderate out of the republican party. charlie crist is the kind of republican we badly need in the

united states senate so we can actually get something done there and not have this nonsense of filibustering the finance reform bill and all this kind of thing that's going on. and yet the republicans actually pushed him out of the race is what they did. you had all manner of people endorsing rubio who used to be thought of as mainstream republicans. and there just apparently is no place in the republican party for moderate, thoughtful people anymore. crist runs as an independent. you now have a hot three-way race that could be won by meek, crist or rubio. >> politico is already predicting this is going to be a very ugly race and going to get personal. speaking of personal, i want to talk about financial reform. because for the american public, it is personal. what do you make of what's happening now? i think one person or one writer put it the republican party has blinked in this, and now we have a debate on its way regarding financial reform in this country. >> look, we badly need one. wall street is not serving us well here. they're basically pushing pieces

of paper around between themselves, making a lot of money for themselves, and choking off capital for the rest of the country. we actually need to make something in this country again. we need to have real jobs and things like the biotech industry and these fantastic areas that we still have world dominance in. and pushing paper around wall street back and forth between each other to make money is not the way to do that. wall street is supposed to be an instrument that will capitalize companies. and until they get back to that, they're not serving our country well. and i'm really delighted with congress going after them. >> do you think we will have a deal soon? i mean, it appears to be the case. >> i do think so. i think the republicans realize that standing up in favor of their usual friends, the big failproof banks is probably not very good politics this year. >> and what seems to be a tough political topic anytime, but especially now, the president says congress does not have the stomach, the will, right now to deal with immigration reform. we see what's happened in arizona with what is said to be

the toughest immigration law. texas wants to perhaps follow suit and do something similar. what should we expect from this administration as we watch now people battling each other, protesting, and calls for boycotts? what should this administration do to step up here? >> we need to have immigration reform, and we do need to pass that through the house and the senate. you know, this is a bipartisan -- bipartisan issue. it might not be in the senate, which seems to be not very bipartisan at all about anything, but ronald reagan, george w. bush, barack obama all have sensible, thoughtful immigration reforms. they were all along the same lines, that is allow people who have been here for a long time to earn legalization. strengthen the border so you don't have -- look, the people of arizona have a legitimate problem. they just picked an incredibly illegitimate and almost certainly unconstitutional solution. but part of their problem is that the federal government hasn't done what it's supposed

to do. and that's because the right wing of the republican party is using immigration, using zenophobia, anti-hispanic rhetoric, in order to crank up their own base of voters. this is very bad for the country. we need to deal with this. we need to deal with it in a fair, thoughtful way. we have bipartisan precedence that we can use and we need to bite the bullet and fight the z zenophobes. >> we appreciate your time. thank you. >> thanks, tamron. >> go to twitter.msnbc.com, give us your thoughts. you heard governor dean roll down the list of the topics which include financial reform, immigration as well as that race in florida. we will pick out a tweet of the day a little later. still to come, hit and run but the no tt the kind you usuay think of. this one involves a plane that's a long way from camping, knot tying and basketweaving. a sign of the times, is it? courtesy of the cub scouts. what they're now getting out a badge for.

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welcome back. in today's "tech watch," apple has bought a company. the application is called siri, s-i-r-i. users can speak commands like "send a taxi to my house" to their iphone or i touch. it uses speak recognition technology to make it happen. it may be one of the most expensive prices for a gallon of gas you've ever heard of in the states. but people in alaska got no choice. they'll have to shell out a whopping $9.20 for a gallon of gas. the distributor says it's because he has to fly in the fuel supply. it is cheaper to bring in fuel by a barge, but because of low water levels in the river, a barge cannot get in and out, not until at least june. therefore the price may be there

to stay at least till summer. we'll hear more from the mayor of mcgrath, alaska, coming up in our 2:00 hour. also coming up, it is getting bigger by the hour. what will it really take to clean up this massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico? the environmental threat, other issues. we'll talk more about it. plus, she's on the front page of every tabloid magazine. the scoop on sandra bullock, hollywood's latest single parent. what she's saying and what people are saying in reaction to her big news of adopting a baby. . to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools, reducing beverage calories by 88%. together with schools, we're helping kids make more balanced choices every day. ♪

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welcome back. we've got some breaking news to report regarding two miners who were trapped after a ceiling collapsed at a coal mine in kentucky. we're now just getting word that one miner has been found alive, and crews are working to get him out. this is at the dotiki mine about 150 miles west of louisville. it's in webster county. the mine is owned by webster county coal. and they say that the miners were trapped when a portion of the roof unexpectedly collapsed.

two miners were trapped. but now we've just got breaking news in that one miner has been found alive, and crews are working to get him out. we'll have more on it. and the obama administration says the cost of cleaning up that giant oil spill in the gulf of mexico will fall on british petroleum. a white house spokesperson said the president and officials say is much worse than estimated before. nbc news environmental expert looks at an effort to clean up that spill which threatens to become a major environmental disaster. >> reporter: fighting a wind pattern that could bring the spill ashore by friday night, crews ignited a controlled burn of the oil in the gulf of mexico. >> like any new technology, if the results are good and we're happy with the results, then the effort would be to get more and more teams out there duplicating that same result. >> reporter: in a controlled burn, work boats pushed the oil into a 500 foot long fire-resistant boom. it is then towed to a remote area and set on fire.

each burn consumes several thousand gallons of oil and lasts about an hour. >> it's a difficult procedure, and it's something that's got to be done. remember, it's a lot better to destroy the oil at sea rather than try to clean it up and work with it once it gets on shore. >> reporter: the slick is now 100 miles wide and less than 20 miles from louisiana's coast. we got to see the challenge up close at the leak site. here inside the spill, white caps are brown. and that scent of fresh salt sea air is no more. all you can smell is the pungent odor of oil. the louisiana responder is one of 16 skimming boats working at the site. kenneth howland is a 17-year veteran of spill cleanup. look at the size of this. how do you ever clean up something this big? >> it's -- we can do it. it will take a while to do it, but we will do it. we will do our best effort. >> reporter: the best effort involves the same corralling

process as the controlled burn. but instead of igniting the oil, a skimmer picks up the oil and water and sends it into four tanks on board. overhead planes fly low spraying chemical dispersant to break down the oil. and along the gulf coast, 100,000 feet of boom is ready to be deployed along the most ecologically sensitive areas from the louisiana delta to mobile, alabama. >> we hope we don't have to do that, but it is prudent and over an abundance of caution to make sure that we deal with those contingencies in advance. >> that was anne thompson reporting off the coast of louisiana. and authorities are questioning the pilot of a small plane involved in a dramatic hit-and-run accident. this is crazy. out of boulder, colorado. as it was landing, the plane veered and hit a car, then hit a utility pole before coming to a stop. eyewitnesses say the pilot who appeared to be unhurt grabbed his bag from the plane and took off. no one was hurt. police are investigating the incident. and take a look at this.

scientists and bystanders ran for safety as a giant space balloon got free and dragged along the desert, overturning cars. the balloon was a research project, but scientists -- to study gamma rays in space. researchers say the freak gust of wind may have caused the accident. no one was hurt in that, but look at that video. crazy. and a jaw-dropping scene in tulsa, oklahoma. yes, that's a car sticking out of a parking garage. whoopcys. it happened yesterday. police say the driver's foot got stuck on the gas. the foot good stuck on the gas? well, no one was hurt including the driver. how does your foot get stuck on the gas? pull your foot up. anyway, there's a heated race in illinois for the president's old senate seat in illinois, the seventh most heavily democratic state in the nation. republican candidate congressman mark kirk is now running even with the democrat in the poll s

giannoulias. lynn sweet is with "the chicago sun times." i know you've been following this race. it's interesting, i understand that senator dick durbin even went to the white house talking about this race and expressing his concern. >> well, the white house certainly knows because of rahm emanuel being there and david axelrod, you know, they keep tabs on illinois politics. the point is that the democratic national committee and the white house have not yet made their commitments in these major party races which is why the chatter starts about what the -- you know, what the white house is going to do or whether or not they put a priority on a seat that obama held compared to all the other seats in play. the difference here is is that the republicans are saying illinois is a trophy seat. you know, the republicans in the campaign is saying it. so it says that the republicans are more outspoken nationally in their hunger to reclaim the seat. and that's part of the reason you hear so much chatter about the white house angle on this.

>> well, i mean, again, back to the politico report, they say dick durbin wept nt to the west wing last week and urged rahm emanuel to help save the president's old seat. it does not look like he got any promises from rahm emanuel. as you say, we know all of the insiders are watching. why wouldn't they commit to giannoulias? what is he doing wrong? >> that's presuming that the white house is in the position right now to say here exactly is the commitment. okay, they haven't parcelled out the time of obama and the surrogates. and it would have been helpful to alexi, yes, if somebody could make an announcement. but the illinois primary was the first in the nation, it was in february. one of the reasons you're hearing some of this now is illinois was the first state to actually have nominees. and the second thing -- and, you know, iny a lot of your viewers might know it -- that the family-owned bank in chicago failed last week which put more attention on the seat which does

raise reasonably the question of, so, what are you going to do now that the giannoulias. they gave him a shout-out yesterday and a hug. i just think it's premature to be conclusive about the white house will or will for the -- you know, what they thwill or wl not do. they're keeping close tabs on what's happening in illinois. >> lynn sweat with "the chicago sun-times." thanks for coming on. plenty of reaction today to sandra bullock's big announcement she's adopting a little baby she refers to as the mlgts m little man and the man who she is divorcing called the other man. i picked up "people" and i cried. i called the executive producer and said it's the most touching interview. >> it's a touching topic. let's put emphasis, tamron hall cries. who knew? i love it. no, it's definitely a touching story. i think a lot of people are, now

that this is a day or so old, taking a step back and saying really? should you be publicizing this so much? to call it what it is, it's changing the dialogue. we no longer care about jesse james. we no longer care that much about his overly tattooed paramo paramours, mistresses, whatever you want to call them. now we want to talk about this story. and in a sense her -- >> isn't that a better story? >> it is definitely a better story. >> it's a better story. >> it's a better story. but at the same time, it's still just publicity. >> okay. >> it's difficult to not be slightly cynical about it. however, in sandra's defense, she had to get out in the world at some point. >> she wants to take her baby outside. >> she wants to go for a walk like every other human being. >> what is the celebrity world saying? >> everyone is overwhelmingly happy for her. everyone thinks this is the best possible thing that could happen. i mean, talk about something that puts everything into perspective very quickly. >> katie holmes. >> katie holmes, yes, jackie onassis -- >> is this real? >> this is a real thing.

she's signed on to play jacqueline kennedy in "the kennedys" an upcoming history channel mini-series about the political family in 2011, eight hours of programming. greg kinnear will play jfk, tom wilkinson, joe kennedy sr. an interesting choice in that she's stepping away from film -- >> i was going to ask-- >> -- and doing something like this. >> is that a wise career move? >> i think it's indicative of a career move that more celebrities are making. there's a lot of good equity to be had in a really well produced mini-series like this that's on a cable show and is going to put a lot of funding into it. greg kinnear who is on this project as well, he's no shrug either. i think you'll be seeing a lot more of hollywood, you're used to seeing on the big screen coming to the little screen, and it's a good career move. >> one more topic. >> madonna. we were talking about this, this is number one on the billboard charts. 98,000 copies of the sound track sold according to nielsen. it's the first tv sound track to

top the u.s. album chart since "high school musical" in 2007. in so many ways, what this also means, gosh, bad news for "american idol." "glee" has completely overshadowed "american idol." this time last year we'd usually be talking about "american idol" songs being sold on itunes. >> it went long again and i didn't see "glee." >> it is not hard to make that show end on time. it's really not. >> for the latest on the entertainment news perspective and even a little cynicism, go to scoop.todayshow.com. and breaking news to report. we just got word that homeland security secretary janet napolitano and an epa administrator will hold a briefing at the white house regarding that massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico. it is now said to be five times larger than originally expected. the president has commented on it. we'll see more information coming from homeland security secretary janet napolitano in a briefing a little bit later. les,

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in tennessee this morning, a trial is winding down that will decide the fate of a kindergarten teacher accused of molesting three young girls. the teacher is tanya kraft, and she says she is innocent. nbc's michelle kosinski lives from georgia with the details. michelle. >> reporter: hey, tamron. yeah, this is a small community. when you have hundreds of people, even more online, rallying behind this now fired kindergarten teacher, tonya kraft, but you also have deep feeling for three little girls who at times graphically describe what they claim she did to them. you have conflicting testimony and fragmented memories of little kids. so amid that, imagine facing the rest of your life behind bars. >> reporter: two years have passed since she was accused, and tonya kraft has lost her job. her home, custody of her young daughter. but to many, she is still the beloved kindergarten teacher

they refuse to believe would harm a child. >> they don't want the truth. they don't want any of that. they want a conviction. and they're going to get it one way or another. >> reporter: there are websites and blogs furiously calling the trial a witch hunt, saying kraft is the victim of scheming detractors or shoddy police work or overzealous prosecutors. >> how can this happen? how can i go from being a mother and a teacher to having a mug shot on television for something i did not do? this kind of situation, it could happen to anyone. it could happen to anybody at any time, and all there has to be is an accusation. and that's it. you're stripped of your rights and your life and your children and your home. >> reporter: started with one little girl, claiming kraft folgdsed her at a sleepover with kraft's daughter. the girl now 9 says the abuse happened multiple times when she was in kindergarten and first

grade. though her story has changed some, she said there's more, but i can't remember. when asked why she didn't remember certain things earlier, she said, "i just remembered." but two other girls have made similar accusations. the father of one broke down. >> i said, are you 100% sure that this happened? and i'll never forget the look on her face or in her eyes. she stopped everything she did and looked me dead in the eye and said, "i know it did, dad." >> reporter: tonya kraft has been indicted on 22 counts of molestation and sexual battery. >> raise your right hand and take an oath, ma'am. >> reporter: one expert testified that the victim's medical exams showed signs consistent with sexual signs consistent of sexual abuse, while one said there were none. >> we are also dealing with a professional child actress that played the role of an abused

child. it's very, it's very scary for me to wonder how i'm going to depend myself against that. >> reporter: there's a question as to whether the children were led by police or their parents, but why would they manipulate little kids to do so and why would kids that young make up a story. a tough case and one that determines whether or not this woman spends the rest of her life in prison. >> unbelievable case. thank you. up next, the e.u. moves to shore up greek banks. what it will mean for the world financial markets, ahead. going? going? so is campbell's healthy request soup. low in fat and cholesterol, heart healthy levels of sodium, and taste you'll love. girl: this is good for my heart? chef: you noticed.

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camping, tracking and signalling. cub scouts can now earn a merit badge from playing video games and teaching others how to play better and researching the best price. it seems to -- the boy scout's korgs says it needs to keep up with the times. they've introduced 13 new merit badges this year. there is some positive news today concerning the financial crisis in greece. portugal and spain are already affected and it is impacting oil prices. but now, there's word of a bailout for greece so it can defaulting may 19th on its mountain of debt. keith miller joins us from athens, greece. i know a lot of help is expected to come from germany and they're not happy about that.

>> reporter: about 60% of the germans are opposed to giving money to greece to bail out their debt, but andrea merkel said we must. the plan now is probably between the international monetary fund and the european commission to raise between 60 to 130 billion euros to help greece at least start to get back on their feet. that is just the beginning because this country is so deep in debt, it's always the possibility it could default or restructure their loans. right now, the government is putting in an austerity program, all-state employees are taking a 30% salary cut effective almost immediately. a whole slew of taxes on luxury goods, cars, boats, swimming pools are being taxed even. and of course, cigarettes, alcohol. they're really trying to show the world they can get their financial house back in order. >> we talked about the spread to

portugal and spain, but there are also concerns in italy and ireland as well. >> reporter: absolutely. all these countries are running a very high deficit, but also, these countries have been fudging their books a little bit and so they're just now getting a real good idea of how much in debt these countries are. a lot of people have been spending and living it large. >> that does it for me. contessa brewer picks up our coverage. homeland security secretary janet napolitano will brief on that massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico. it could be the biggest environmental disaster since the exxon valdez. ♪

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we begin with breaking news. any moment live at the white house, janet napolitano will join robert gibbs to update reporters on the state of the massive oil spill in the gulf coast. it could turn into one of the most serious oil spills since is exxon valdez. the oil slick may be five times larger than thought and crews discovered a third leak underwater. mark potter is in new orleans, louisiana with a latest. how bad is it? >> reporter: i'm south of new orleans, down in the southern tip of louisiana where the oil will first come in if it hits the state as predicted. we're talking to fishermen here. they're scared to death by this. they are very concerned that if oil comes in about the start of the ground shimp season, that it's going to kill the season.

kill the shrimp and other marine life and they are very worried about it and